MMA’s Greats of the States | New Jersey: Frankie Edgar

Mixed martial artists come from every corner of the globe,
bearing a variety of styles. Sometimes, fighters are products of
their environment, favoring disciplines prevalent in the country or
state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States
are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly
is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series,
the spotlight will shine on the best mixed martial artist of
all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily
need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need
to be associated with it.

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Frankie
Edgar stands out in a crowded field whenever talk turns to New
Jersey and the mixed martial artists who call it home.

“The Answer” won 12 of his first 13 pro bouts, captured the
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight crown by outpointing
and perplexing the great B.J. Penn at UFC
112 in April 2010 and then replicated the feat more decisively in a
rematch with the Hawaiian four months later. Edgar continued to
establish himself as an elite fighter at UFC 125, where he retained
the 155-pound title by battling Gray
Maynard to a split draw in one of the greatest lightweight
fights of all-time. The Toms River, New Jersey, native got the last
laugh in his rivalry with Maynard in October 2011, when he knocked
out “The Bully” in the fourth round of their battle at UFC 136.
Edgar surrendered the lightweight championship in a close decision
loss to Benson
Henderson some five months later and then failed to regain it
in their UFC 150 rematch.

Following the consecutive defeats to Henderson, Edgar downshifted
to 145 pounds. He has gone 5-2 since, a pair of five-round decision
losses to Jose Aldo in
title fights the only blemishes. Edgar has won 10 post-fight award
bonuses since arriving in the UFC in 2007: seven for “Fight of the
Night,” two for “Performance of the Night” and one for “Knockout of
the Night.” His outstanding resume includes three victories over
Penn and other notable wins against Cub Swanson,
Chad
Mendes, Urijah
Faber, Charles
Oliveira and Sean Sherk.